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| − | '''Roleplay by Conrac Amcastra'''
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| − | A candle blew as Conrac dressed himself up... Sorsha was sick, it had taken a while but he had managed to grab a few herbs from home.
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| − | Conrac hummed and wondered if they would help, he was a terrible cook. One of the candles suddenly blinked out. As he continued to wrap together a few herbs, Conrac's forehead wrinkled, 'That's odd there's no wind in this room...' He slowly reached for a dagger to his belt when a hand shot out and grabbed his hand.
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| − | "Come now... Is that not a terrible way to greet family?" Conrac shuddered. A voice like ice...so cold. Conrac swallowed deeply and turned to face the one man he had ever feared.
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| − | In front of him stood Larin Amcastra, Lord of the Amcastra family and his brother. Larin smiled darkly before taking the very dagger that Conrac had reached for and put it to his neck.
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| − | "Little brother, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I was recently elected King of Zonasa but that I was forced to leave that position because I had found that something unthinkable had happened." Larin smiled and pressed his hand closer to Conrac's neck and watched as blood trickled down.
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| − | "Why my little brother had gotten married and hadn't even invited me."
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| − | Conrac pressed his back against the wall. "I-I thought you would understand." he responded weakly. However his brother's gaze was on the pack of herbs on the table.
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| − | "Packing them?" Larin's eyes burned with anger even as his voice remained cool. "Dear little brother surely you know that those herbs came from the Duchy of Zonasa and our ancestral lands, they're worth their weight in gold." Larin took a pinch and put it to his nose.
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| − | "Ah, and pure too," He whipped the herbs off the table. "And you waste it on some wench!"
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| − | "Her name is Sorsha!" Conrac spat out defiantly.
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| − | "Sorsha" Larin's voice twisted the words as if he were talking about an insect. "I had a marriage with a duchess set up with you."
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| − | "I didn't want it"
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| − | "You had no choice"
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| − | "Why" Conrac looked at his brother defiantly
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| − | Larin's eyes blazed with anger. "You ask that? You, who killed your mother when you came into this world? You are a devious, disobedient, spiteful little monster full of low cunning. The laws of the world state that you are my brother. To teach me humility, the gods have condemned me to watch you waddle around wearing the robes of a politician bearing the family seal that was my father's sigil and his father's before him. But neither gods nor men shall ever compel me to let you turn a region controlled by the Amcastra family into a whorehouse."
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| − | Conrac stared as blood continued to flow; he was starting to go dizzy. "You always told me that a trustworthy person is more valuable than anything else. Why don't you approve?"
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| − | "The stories of this woman reaches even me" Larin scoffed. "Is she even a virgin with all the men she has played off? Let me be blunt and make no mistake- this is the last time I will suffer you to bring shame onto House Amcastra. You are done with this girl. If I find her with you again, I'll hang." Larin removed his blade off Conrac's neck and stared at him carefully.
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| − | "Remember brother, Amcastra gold reaches all..." He turned around and faded into the shadows. Not surprising considering this was a man who had once been famous as the deadliest assassin in the duchy's arsenal.
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| − | Conrac collapsed onto the floor promptly after fainting from blood loss.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | Lorlan walked into his lady’s room and pushed aside the heavy curtains to let in the sun. It shone directly onto her bed and Sorsha’s head moved to the side slowly opening her eyes. Lorlan then reached her bedside and pulled back the diaphanous material that surrounded her bed, tying each part to her bedposts.
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| − | She watched his movements and frowned. He was very quiet and he seemed preoccupied with something. She then noticed, Lycan moving beside her on the chair and it dawned on her he had slept there. She tried to sit up on her pillows and was relieved to feel some of her strength had returned. Taking a deep breath, she smiled finding it easier to breathe.
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| − | “Lorlan… have you received word from Conrac?” she asked curiously. She missed him terribly and wished to see him. Lorlan almost stopped moving, but forced to continue and she noticed the speed of his movements begin to slow. "It really is not like him to not respond to my letters" she added and he averted his gaze.
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| − | Brows knitted delicately again at Lorlan and she took his hand as he was readying to move away. “Lorlan, you seem different this morning. Is everything well?”
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| − | His grey eyes looked at her and then quickly away. “My lady… you need to stay in bed and rest. News of the outside world will reach you soon enough.”
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| − | His tone was uneasy and she sat squarely in bed, now alert. “What’s wrong?” she questioned him and he shook his head, not saying anything. At his silence, her face changed and a multitude of thoughts raced through her head. “Is it Conrac?” She asked fearfully. He didn’t say anything and she pressed her hands into his flesh. “You will tell me now!” she ordered and his shoulders slumped. “My lady no matter what I tell you please refrain from acting rashly. You are not well.”
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| − | Her heart beat faster and she held her breath. “I am perfectly fine,” she said through gritted teeth and hissed “tell me.”
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| − | He took an uneasy sigh and looked at her. “Sir Conrac was found unconscious in his rooms. It seems he was attacked and has lost some blood. His healers are taking care of him now.”
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| − | At that the blood drained from her face and her hand reached up to her mouth stifling a small gasp. She looked to Lycan who had completely woken by now and was leaning forward listening to Lorlan’s words. “What’s going on?” he asked groggily and she ignored Lorlan as he repeated again the exact same words.
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| − | “Nooo…” she whimpered and with renewed strength, she threw the blankets aside and was out of her bed in an instant. Behind her, Lorlan tried to catch her as she ran off. “My Lady...Guards!” he called out and seemingly out of nowhere two men moved to block her exit.
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| − | At that she stopped, her feet sliding in the lush carpet. “My lady, you are not well. You need to remain in bed, as soon as news of Conrac reaches us you will be the first to know,” he said eyes pleading and she whirled on him, eyes dangerous. “How dare you?! You shall do well to remember your place Lorlan, you are my servant, not the other way around!” she spat and noticing the heavy cloak not far off. Grabbing it she threw it over her shoulders quickly tying it to her neck. She quickly slipped on some high fur boots and began to walk away.
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| − | She knew she wasn’t well enough yet but no one was going to keep her from Conrac, especially now. Not after what she went through to be with him.
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| − | She stood tall before the guards and her nostrils flared. “You will stand down, or I will make you rue the day your mother bore you.” She knew her threat wasn’t completely backed up by strength but the anger in her eyes was devastating. As one they moved out of the way and she took a step forward.
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| − | Looking over her shoulder to Lycan she spoke, “you coming?” she asked and without waiting for his answer, she walked away.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Lycan Moreira'''
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| − | Lycan stirred in his chair when he felt some movement and voices around. He woke up to a seemingly upset Lady Sorsha. He watched trying to figure out what was happening, when Lady Sorsha got up from bed he got up from his chair trying to stop her. What was she thinking? She needed her rest. But upon looking into her eyes and how upset and determined she was, he decided not to interfere. He knew her that much.
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| − | He watched as she stood up to the guards blocking her path and chuckled at her determination. <i>Guess this Sir Conrac really means a lot</i>, he thought to himself.
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| − | Realizing he wouldn't be able to stop her and seeing she would probably need help he decided to accept her invitation just in case he really was needed and also to make sure she would be alright.
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| − | "Yes, I am." he answered her simply. Not really woken up and trying to keep up with her haste he followed her.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | Sorsha heard Lycan’s words behind her, but she didn’t slow her steps. She walked directly out of the estate to where Conrac was staying. It wasn’t long for her to get there and she was quietly grateful for her friend’s presence. She wasn’t fully recovered, she knew this but she didn’t care. Every step she took her side flared painfully, but she slid her hand inside her cloak and pressed against it. With the cold wind, her cough returned and she tried to pretend it wasn’t affecting her.
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| − | She was so distraught with worry that when she entered she didn’t care who may have been there standing in her way, they had better move or be moved. She walked up the stairs to his room and entered, Lycan only a step behind. When she did a man moved back from the bed and stood up to face her. “You cannot be here,” he told her and she ignored him. “Move,” she pushed her way past him to Conrac who lay on the bed.
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| − | Kneeling beside him she took his hand in both of hers. She noticed his neck was bandaged and swallowed. “Dear spirits, who did this to you?” she whispered but there was no answer, he was completely out and her eyes watered at the silence. She just wanted him to open his eyes, look at her and tell her everything was fine and she was worrying for no reason. She then looked over to Lycan who stood a small distance away and frowned. “Why would they hurt him?” she asked him weakly, tears now staining her cheeks, as if he had all the answers. She looked around the room to the healer. “What happened?”
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| − | He shrugged and sighed, “a servant found him… he was bleeding, there was no sign of struggle, he was just found with that nasty cut on his throat and this dagger near him.” He motioned near the table where on the table lay Síoraí, and her expression went blank. Rising from the ground, her eyes searched his face for any lies. “If that’s the dagger that injured him, and there was no sign of struggle…” she let her words trail off and bit her lip. Conrac was a good fighter, she had seen him in action. There was no way he’d just allow someone to best him for the dagger and with no sign of struggle, he would have at least put up a fight.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Lycan Moreira'''
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| − | Lycan watched everything from a distance not wanting to impose on Lady Sorsha's moment with Sir Conrac.
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| − | He got closer to where Sir Conrac supposedly was hurt and took a look trying to see any signs of a fight. He couldn't find a single one. Who ever did it must be good he thought to himself. He then picked up the dagger and took a closer look. It was a fine dagger indeed with some inscriptions on it. But again nothing that could give him any clue to whom the perpetrator was.
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| − | He approached Sorsha and handed the dagger to her shrugging and simply motioning her there was nothing to help find out what had happened.
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| − | "I guess we will have to wait until he wakes up." he sighed.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | Sorsha took the dagger Lycan handed her and examined it closely. She almost tucked it away in her belt, but rethinking it, set it on the table beside him. It was his now, who better to have her guardian than the man she loved.
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| − | Hearing Lycan’s words she nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said softly and leaned closer to Conrac, “please…” she kissed his mouth slowly, lingering, and one of her tears landed on his cheek and she wiped it away with her thumb.
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| − | A few moments passed and Lorlan entered the room. “My lady,” he said exasperated. “You are not well yourself, you need to return to your bed,” this time his voice was pleading and she ignored him completely. “I’m not leaving him,” she mumbled and he touched her shoulder. “Very well then, but you need to return immediately.”
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| − | At that she looked up to look at Conrac and to his healer. “Yes… that’s a wonderful idea, he will be safe there,” she breathed and nodded to Lorlan. “Prepare everything I want him moved to the estate.”
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| − | It wasn’t long before the preparations were made, and they moved him to one of her guest rooms. They lay him down in the bed and when everyone left them alone, she climbed into the bed beside him, covering them both with a soft blanket. She then kissed him one more time, “I love you,” she breathed and took her hand in hers and leaned her head onto his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. Now all she had to do was wait for him to wake…
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| − | '''Roleplay by Conrac Amcastra'''
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| − | Conrac was dreaming...which was about as common as a giant squid rising up from the depths and smiting an entire city.
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| − | "Conrac.... My dear Conrac...." An unknown voice states weakly.
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| − | "Dad.... Are you sick because of me? Because I failed again?" A small voice speaks out."
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| − | "Conrac... I'm sorry, Conrac..."
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| − | "Don't cry, dad! I will definitely become an amazing person!"
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| − | "No matter what!"
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| − | The scene slowly faded and light appeared. Conrac slowly looked down and saw Sorsha... It was only Sorsha. Wait Sorsha?!
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| − | Conrac slowly nudged Sorsha on the head. "You’re supposed to be in bed..." He grumbled weakly and touched his neck. He grimaced a bit, that was going to leave a nasty scar. Leave it to Larin to leave him alive but damaged. He always was overly fond of that. He would chop the limbs off a knight, poison a lord and leave him broken but never would he finish him off. Of course, Conrac was no mere knight or lord... so it was only going to get more dangerous. To think that his elderly brother would come down from his high and mighty position as king of Zonasa in order to give him the backhand...
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| − | Conrac groaned as a wave of pain surged through his body. His brother with his great abundance of mercy seemed to have poisoned the blade. Not enough to kill him but enough to leave him miserable and shocked.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | Sorsha felt a light touch on her head, “I am in bed,” she answered now half asleep, the steady beating of his heart, lulling her. When she realized he was talking she looked up. “Conrac!” she breathed and hugged him fiercely, her eyes watering anew but with relief. “Oh, thanks the gods,” she whispered softly in his ear and backed up to look into his eyes as both of her hands reached the sides of his face. He reached up to touch his neck and closed his eyes, obviously not doing so well. What a pair they made now.
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| − | “I didn’t want to leave you,” she explained. “I didn’t want to leave you alone there...” she informed and bit her lip. She hoped he wasn’t angry that she had taken the liberty of moving him. She didn’t want whoever had gotten to him, to do so again.
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| − | “Are you alright?” she asked concerned. “What happened?” she continued to say, not really giving him a chance to answer her first question, she was so glad to have him awake but her anxiousness was still there in full.
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| − | '''Roleplay by Conrac Amcastra'''
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| − | Conrac smiled "Sorsha...you’re choking me..." He stared amused at her as she panicked. She was adorable.
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| − | As she asked him what happened his face darkened. It was a difficult decision, if he told her. She would do either two things. She would collapse into a puddle of self-pity or she would with characteristic energy go off and try to find his brother. That was by the way crazy... Larin did not have much patience and in a worse case scenario he would merely cut her down and then assume that Conrac would grow stronger from his rage.
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| − | No... Confessing would be foolish and deeply dangerous. The last thing he wanted to do was get Sorsha involved with a brilliant assassin, the only man he had never been able to defeat in a chess game. But at the same time, leaving her completely in the dark was equally as dangerous. After all Larin was certainly going to go after her... But even if he told her what could she do? This was a man who had snuck into a city guarded by one thousand troops and had escaped with a king's head in his hand. Even if she tightened security, if Larin wanted to kill her... He probably would.
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| − | Conrac looked at Sorsha with hesitation on his face as several different thoughts battled with each other.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | As his face darkened, Sorsha sat up beside him and cocked her head with interest. He looked… angry, obviously she would be livid if someone had attacked her, but he was quietly composed.
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| − | He looked directly at her, as if assessing her and she licked her partially healed lip self-consciously. “What?” she asked thinking maybe he was looking at her bruises and raised her hand to hide her mouth, trying to cover them up out of vivid awareness.
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| − | He was silent for a long time simply looking at her and her heart sunk, it was a moment before she dared to look directly at him again. He didn’t want to tell her, either that or he didn’t know how to tell her. Why would he not want to do either? Or was it just her in general?
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| − | Her mind raced with questions, she breathed softly, but it accelerated with the sensation as she felt her heart being squeezed in her chest. “You knew them,” she said instead and his eyes searched her face at her statement.
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| − | “Conrac, I’ve seen you with Síoraí, no one should have been able to take that dagger from you, unless you…” she didn’t finish the thought and reached out to take his hands, gripping them tightly, afraid to let go. “Say something,” she begged her blue eyes stared into his. “Please,” she whispered.
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| − | '''Roleplay from Conrac Amcastra'''
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| − | Conrac sighed. "Sorsha it wasn't them, it was one person..." He turned to the window.
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| − | "My brother Larin has stepped down from his position as Regent of Zonasa, in order to pay his little brother a visit." He ran his hand through his hair.
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| − | "And I believe he is going to kill me..." Well it wasn't totally a lie. Still it would keep Sorsha safer then if she knew the reason. Conrac pat Sorsha reassuringly on the head with a smile.
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| − | "Don't worry everything will work out."
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| − | '''Roleplay from Sorsha McDowell'''
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| − | “Your own brother…” she repeated slowly with shock. She watched him look out the window and then he passed his hand through his hair. “Kill you? But why?” she wondered and a long cold shiver coursed through her and she wrapped her arms around her waist. Was it the impending doom she felt throughout her body or her body reminding her she was still ill?
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| − | He made it sound like it was nothing… but he was everything to her. “How could I not worry about this?” She tried to think why his own brother would do such a thing…his family? And then it dawned on her and her expression changed and then she closed her eyes, pressed her lips together and looked to the ceiling as if reprimanding herself for being such an idiot.
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| − | When she looked down, he was still giving her a weak smile but she saw right through him. She had been around him enough to know when he was covering something up. “Do you remember a discussion we had over dinner, it seems so long ago now but I remember it like it was yesterday.” She changed the subject completely, and he gave her a look as if asking what it had to do with this at all. “You mentioned arranged marriages at the time… and I was very honest about my disapproval on the subject. Do you know why that is?”
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| − | He shook his head and she looked down. “Because my aunt… Kaylan’s mother, was promised to a wealthy man from a very young age… a Duke, for she was born of high station.” He blinked at that and she scoffed. “That’s right my very own family. That is why I despised the very idea. Because I have seen and felt firsthand the destruction it caused, this fissure that started so small, tore a family apart and still continues to this day. Did you ever wonder why I was trained to fight at such an early age? It is because we had to become warriors to protect ourselves from any threat.” She rose off the bed, now shivering.
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| − | “I didn’t tell you this then because… you seemed very convinced with the idea and who was I, a complete stranger to make you see differently when it was all you have ever known? But did you know she had already fallen in love with another man, someone she loved passionately, so much that she couldn’t bear to be without him and ran away to be with him.”
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| − | She stopped the story there and paced… and then she stopped pacing to face him. “In the end… she lost him, he was taken from her, killed before her very eyes out of hate and spite. You see, she tried to fight fate but she couldn’t.”
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| − | Her eyes watered and she sighed. “So how could you tell me not to worry about your family wanting to hurt you? I know the intricacies of hate they run deep, especially when it comes to family as pride and a preposterous sense of dishonour is always involved. I was vowed to secrecy on this very subject… Isn’t it ironic that I should be here with you now?” she said the last so softly he barely heard her.
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